Cognos
COGN
shares surged $1.60 to close at $25.32 after the company on Wednesday posted a profit of $29.6 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $164 million for the period ended Feb. 28. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call forecast Cognos would earn 27 cents a share on sales of $161 million.

Cognos' profits nearly tripled from the $10 million, or 11 cents a share, it earned during the same period a year ago when its sales were $143 million.

The company reported operating cash flow of $56 million, bringing its total cash and cash equivalents to $242 million.

Rob Ashe, Cognos' president and chief operating officer, attributed part of the performance to completing the purchase of Adaytum, which makes planning software for large enterprises. "We think our strategy has taken a huge step since we added Adaytum," Ashe said.

Going forward, Cognos expects first-quarter revenue of between $146 million and $150 million, with profits in a range of 12 cents to 14 cents a share. Wall Street analysts have forecast Cognos to report first-quarter sales of $144.5 million and earnings of 14 cents a share.

Cognos' report gave a lift to other business-software companies. Its main rival, Business Objects
BOBJ
rose $1.56, or 9 percent, to $18.74, while Hyperion Solutions
HYSL
rose $1.44 to $27.44.

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